Gunpei Yokoi: Mr. Nintendo

basscomm writes "Nintendojo has the first two parts of a two part editorial on the career of Gunpei Yokoi. Mr. Yokoi worked at Nintendo for many years and was responsible for such innovations as the D-pad, R.O.B., the Game and Watch, Kid Icarus, Metroid, the Game Boy, and the ill-fated Virtual Boy. This prolific inividual was killed in an automobile accident in 1997."

Comments

Re:Super lasers

[Derivatater]

I'm talking about the big planet destroying laser that was the super laser. They weren't trying to use that against the x- and y-wings. They tried to use the smaller turbolasers against them. While some of the fighters were shot down by turbolasers, most had to be destroyed "ship to ship". Super laser=blows up Alderaan. Turbolaser="normal" laser, like those found on Star Destroyers.

Re:A Tragic Loss

[LordArathres]

considering he was stangin outside his car when another car hit him, it wasnt his fault although the person that hit him could have been using the game boy and would that not have been ironic.

Arathre

first two parts

[sheetsda]

first two parts of a two part editorial
As oppose to what? Having the last two parts of a two part editorial?

"// this is the most hacked, evil, bastardized thing I've ever seen. kjb"

Re:first two parts

[Erasmus Darwin]

As oppose to what? Having the last two parts of a two part editorial?

Given that the end of the second part speaks of an additional upcoming part, it's appears to be at least a three part editorial.

Personally, I wish Slashdot would wait until these things were complete before posting the story. It'd be rather nice not having to worry about remembering to go back to a site that I otherwise don't visit. I could understand if it were an issue that was time sensitive or one where the Slashdot traffic was important to the outcome, but neither seems to be the case here.

Re:His name........

[ChaosEmerald]

This is a wonderful problem with Gunpei's name. If you translate the name directly into English (romaji) you'd get Gunpei. However, on his buisness card, he had Gumpei. However, his name was pronounced more like Gunpei then Gumpei.

Virtual Boy

[MikeFM]

Did anyone besides me and the VR group I'm in actually like the Virtual Boy? My only bitch is that there were never good specs released about it. We wanted to hack a Java virtual machine and Net connection into it but I don't think any of us ever got it all working. :)

Re:Virtual Boy

[superid]

My (3) kids like Virtual Boy. They'll put it away for a few months and then remember it, shove aside the super nintendo, put away nintendo 64, trip over the two gameboys and set it up again for a few days.

I have almost zero depth perception, so I never really saw the attraction.

SuperID
Free Database Hosting

Re:Super lasers

[Derivatater]

Sorry, i thought you were replying to me. my mistake. You are also correct.

When I first started college in 93...

[Bonker]

I got stuck with a roomate who was a monster of a person. He weighed 400 pounds and smelled like it. He was a truly gross individual, and despite the fact that I have met many unpleasant people over the years, no one single individual has ever weighed into my nightmares so much.

Now before I left home, I had a NES and a Sega Genesis. I was required by my parents to leave those behind so that I could *study*.

After a few weeks of futiley trying to find another roomate in my dorm, however, I went and bought an old-style Gameboy and Super Metroid. It saved my sanity, and whenever I felt suicidal or homicidal, several rounds of Dr. Mario, Super Metroid or brain-numbing Tetris would pull me back up over the edge.

To Gunpei Yokoi and all the other talented engineers and designers who worked on the original game boy, I salute you. Your hard work saved the life of a po' white boy who didn't know no better.

Re:When I first started college in 93...

[donglekey]

Super Metroid doesn't run on a gameboy it was for super nintendo.

"The first two parts of a two part editorial"...?

[thesurfaces.net]

Hello? Isn't that the whole thing then? :)

http://www.blitzbasic.com/

Re:His name........

[Anonymous Coward]

actually, I don't think either are correct. Even in Japan they usually don't put html tags around their names.

/mourn

[supabeast!]

/me bows softly in a moment of silence for Yokoi-san.

Don't forget his biggest contribution

[gorsh]

Right before his death, he created a little game called "Pocket Monsters" or, as it's better known, "Pokemon".

Re:Metroid

[hndrcks]

Metroid Rocked!

I can blame that game for the intial onset of carpal tunnel. Nothing did more then (and now!) to destroy my potential productivity.

Does anybody remember that game with the two jeeps - "Jackal"? That was my other chief waste of time in the late 80's.

Re:A Tragic Loss

[Guppy06]

It was seriously not his day that day.

First, he got rear-ended. Then, when he got out of the car to inspect the damage, another car comes along and gets him.

Conclusive proof...

[goodhell]

...that slashdot is starting to fail. Prior to this people would complain about having a story posted 2-3 days late. Then it was a week.

This one's 4 whole years late! OMFG!!!! What is slashdot coming to?????

Mod me Mad

did the driver get high score

[gelfling]

I always said driving in Japan is like an computer game. Someone set us up the car.

In other news...

[Ahahaha ($$$)]

...Extraterrestrial aliens have been discovered! Courtesy of SOL.no:

The alien life cycle is divided into two distinct stages which are reminiscent of the alternating sporophyte and gametophyte generational stages of plants and fungi. Plants produce distinct types of reproductive cells (spores or gametes) which give rise to genetically distinct types of organisms. Spores grow into gametophytes, which produce gametes, while gametes fuse to form sporophytes which produce spores. In the alien species, the sporophyte stage could be represented by the juvenile stages. These would create the embryo. The gametophyte stage could be represented by the adult stages. These would create eggs after gamete fusion. Such a strategy in might be indicative of an chaotic and dangerous natural environment (see discussion of hypothetical ancestors). We have zero knowledge of the genetics of these creatures, and further speculation on the existence or nature of alien reproductive cells would be unfounded. The alien morphology seems to be a melange of arthropod and vertebrate characteristics. The segmented exoskeletal carapace and variable numbers of limbs are reminiscent of terrestrial arthropods (as well as armored fishes and reptiles to a lesser extent), while the adult body plan seems more vertebrate in nature; the presence of a jaw, spine terminating in a tail and limbs ending in grasping hands and feet as opposed to the mouthparts, legs and body plan of an arthropod suggest a vertebrate morphology. The larval legs are articulated via an endoskeleton, which appears to be covered in a sheath of muscle and a pliable external layer of protein and silicon. This seems to indicate that the oldest ancestors of these creatures possessed endoskeletons, and that exoskeletons evolved later. As is the case with vertebrate evolution in the Silurian and Devonian periods, the endoskeleton may have evolved first as a means to protect the CNS, and the exoskeleton could have evolved secondarily; in response to environmental challenges. The eggs are complex organisms in and of themselves. They are responsible for maintaining life support for the larva for an indefinite amount of time, and must recognize a potential host and distinguish it from valid members of the nest. The eggs contain rudimentary moving parts. Once the egg has determined that a host is proximal, it releases the larva. In the modern species, the egg is flammable, translucent and unarmored. Their gracile nature in comparison to the adults may be in response to the security afforded by the nest strategy. Because of these unusual qualities in an egg, it might be that the egg and larva constitute a single organism up until the point where the larva is released. The size of an egg in comparison to the size of the contained larva indicates substantial internal morphology, consistent with requirements for life support and sensory systems. Despite the obvious immediate differences, the organism's basic body plan may be conserved between the juvenile and adult forms. The larval form has 8 legs, and while imago forms only appear to have 4 limbs, queens appear to have 8. All forms have a single articulated tail, implying the presence of a spine and CNS. As the juveniles posses an endoskeleton it could be assumed that the adults do as well. The adult head morphology is quite distinctive. In the post-nymph forms, the mouth contains a secondary set of jaws on the end of the tongue, and the head is long and curved. In the modern species, it is probable that the larval form is derived to the point where a majority of the sensory portions of the larval body remain in the egg when the larva is released. Anatomy corresponding to the adult head may be contained within the egg. Accordingly, if the juvenile "air- sacs" are used for respiration, any adult breathing apparatus would be located posterior to the hindmost pair of adult legs. Four "vanes" are visible on the backs of most adults, and six are visible along the backs of queens. These may function in breathing. Additionally, the head configuration of the adult may be adaptive in that it would prevent accidental implantation of an embryo into an adult by a larva, or prevent intentional implantation by a larva of another species. The legs of the larva will not easily grasp the adult head, and the ventral "embryopositor" tube will be subject to attack by the mouthed tongue. This may suggest that there are competing species of these creatures on the homeworld. While in the egg, the larva remains suspended in a fluid, suggesting aquatic origins for this species. The emerging larva retains a thin coating of the internal fluid, and this layer appears to be caustic, although the caustic properties are not as dramatic as those displayed by the organism's blood. The combination of the egg fluid and blood pH indicates drastically different aquatic environment on the homeworld than on earth. It is possible that the pH of the egg fluid is closer to the true pH of the oceans on the homeworld and that the caustic properties of the organism's blood are due to a combination of modification and adaptation to the parasitic lifestyle, or the egg maturation process may deplete the egg fluid of its caustic properties. It is likely that the caustic properties of the blood are not due to simple pH, but that other chemical and enzymatic factors are in effect. In addition to functioning as the medium for an internal transport system, the organism's "blood" might be its digestive system, which would suggest an extremely different internal structure than terrestrial standards. The caustic properties of the blood appear to be more effective on synthetic and organic materials than on metals, supporting the idea that other chemical and enzymatic factors are at work, which in turn supports the digestive theory. Interior carapace pressure might indicate a higher average planetary pressure than 14 psi. This could be a defense mechanism, or it could simply be circulatory pressure. The internal physiology of the organism has yet to be revealed to any great extent, but pulsing "artery-like" structures have been observed in emergent nymphs, implying some sort of pumping "heart" organ. Possibly the homeworld is larger or the atmosphere is heavier than on earth. The larval air sacs/bellows might be a historical adaptation to living beyond the aqueous environment, but it is possible that these are a parasitic adaptation, and are not required by the organism. The degree to which they function is probably dictated by the atmospheric requirements of the host, but we have no knowledge of the organism's atmospheric requirements. If such sacs are required, the larva will not survive in vacuum. The adults appear to function as well underwater as out of it, implying that the do not use air sacs. It is possible that inert gasses irritate the adults. Possibly, they breathe using modified gill structures located in the dorsal vanes. Body temperature is ambient, perhaps indicating a generally warm planetary surface temperature, or geothermal habitat requirement. It remains to be seen how long the imago can survive in a vacuum or sub- freezing temperatures. The low pH of the blood would seem to indicate a drastically reduced freezing point. Queens survive extended periods of transit through both of these environments, and it is possible that other instar and imago forms may as well. The various adult forms demonstrate aversion to open flames, but unlike the eggs and nymphs, are not flammable. This suggests temperature boundaries within the upper limits of terrestrial environments. The lack of obvious eyes in any observed stages indicates that the aliens either live entirely in enclosed or subterranean areas, or that there is no visible light incident on the surface of the homeworld. If the organisms lived entirely underground, their size and potential for well populated nests implies a well developed and robust subterranean ecosystem. If they lived the entirety of their lives in their nests, they would be dependent upon the movement of prey and hosts into the nest for survival. It is possible that they lure these into the nest, but the aliens seem quite capable and adept at retrieving them as well. If they dwelled on an illuminated surface for any amount of time, eyes would be a distinct advantage.

Gosh

[fibonacci8]

You mean it took a while to compile a history of the guy's career? Terrible, slashdot should have been reporting his life since his birth, updated twice daily. Or maybe it takes time to put together a biography...

Re:His name........

[kralc]

Why was this modded down? It's perfectly correct.

Wonderswan

[moronga]

Before he passed away Gunpei Yokoi also worked on the Wonderswan and the game Gunpey. The Wonderswan is a really cute little portable machine. The coolest thing about it is that the it can be used either in a tall or wide orientation (depending on the software, obviously). They've done some clever things with the buttons and d-pad so that they work in either orientation.

Gunpey is an insanely addictive dropping pieces puzzle game (one of Wonderswan's launch titles), which is one of the most original since Tetris invented the genre. There's a Windows demo downloadable here. Click on any of the 3 bulleted text links on the left side of the page. They require you to fill out a form--you can probably enter garbage. (It's been a while since I downloaded it myself.)

No, he didn't

[Carlos Rodriguez]

The creator of Pokemon was Satoshi Tajiri, and Nintendo bought the concept from him. You cand find more about Pokemon and Nintendo at http://www.elecplay.com/feature_4096_page1.html
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If you heard about them ...

[SuperRob]

If you heard about them, then they wouldn't exactly be "unsung" anymore, would they?

Plus, some folks like to remain out of the limelight intentionally. Others strive for it. Still others try to avoid it, but are thrust into it's glare anyway. Perhaps osme of the names you mentioned are happy to be overlooked.

Re:His name........

[zhensel]

Gumpei? I know Pee Wee is making a comeback (you don't know jack, blow, new movies) and that Guns and Roses is back together, but do we really want this much of an 80s resurgence?

Furst Poste!

[UltraBot2K1]

I win!

A Tragic Loss

[Slashdot Cruiser]

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Put up the damn GameBoy and pay attention to the road!

His name........

[Z00100]

Isn't his name supposed to be GUMPEI as opposed to GUNPEI?

Unsung heroes.

[Eustis Burbank]

You never hear about the unsung heroes of the gaming age anymore, for instance people like Miazaki Romero and games like "Tenkuu no Shiro Daikatana" and "Dominion: Storm over Mononoke Hime"!

Wow, this guy was really amazing...

[gwizah]

I think he belongs in the annals of gaming for the 80's. The Famicom system with the japanese equivalent of ROB (or robotic-operating-buddy) was pretty popular in nippon. Unfortunately, U.S. kids didnt like interacting with a toy that challenged them to keep the damn top spinning on both the TV and the toy. Come to think of it, I hated the fact the damn thing never worked right for me either! Well, I wish I had kept mine!

Just wanted to say "annals" without being modded down :)